When I recently dreamed about new York and our memories there, I recognized that I never shared the activities we did there with you. Since it was my first time in New York, of course we did some of the touristy stuff, but most of the time we tried to stay away from crowds and the “standard” things and discover New York our way. Of course I did a lot of research beforehand about different places that you have to see whilst being in the “Big Apple” and we visited some of them, but mostly we wanted to discover the city through our eyes (and cameras). I think that you won´t discover a city, by just visiting the main attractions, but rather by strolling through the side-roads, experience the city like a local, sitting in small cafés and just watching people passing by and feeling the individual speed of a city. I was very lucky to have my mum with me, because she just travels as I do and she won´t ever say no to the 6th coffee of the day, just because the café is cute. That´s one of the million reasons why I just love her so much. Now I have some places to share with you that both, my mum and me, loved.

X 9/11 Memorial Museum

Before everything else, I am not the biggest fan of museums. And as this post will continue you won´t see any other museums on here. I don´t know what it is, but I just find that it is really seldom that topics are presented in a way that I find them really interesting and stay there for longer than 20 minutes. And my mum even had to convince me to go to the 9/11 Memorial museum and I am so glad she did. The design of the museum is incredible and you get all the emotions of the whole tragedy. Directly located under the ground zero, the museum exudes a very special feeling and you definitely leave the place with veneration and abjection. I would definitely recommend visiting the museum, it is a truly unique one.

X The Highline

This is one of the rare things we did, which is actually written in the travel guide. We visited the high line really early in the morning (thanks, jet leg) and except for some morning joggers there and it was truly magical. We just walked a little bit around and enjoyed the views and the city waking up around us. You can see the Hudson River on one side and the city on the other hand.  I´ve never seen something similar. They even installed a “cinema” there, where you can watch the cars driving beneath you through a big glass window. Such a cool spot! 

X Carrie Bradshaws Appartement

For the “Sex and the City”-Fans under you this might be on the list anyway, but even if you are not a fan, I really recommend visiting the place, because it is, without a doubt, in the cutest street of New York. Especially as we were in New York the leaves of the trees in the street were slightly red and some even lay on the street, which made it look so cute. What I also really really liked was that at the doorstep of the Appartement there was a sign and a box and on the sign it was written that if you take a picture of the house, please put some money in the box which will be donated to the local animal shelter. I just really loved the idea! Another plus of visiting the house is that the neighbourhood is so so cute. With lots of cute cafés and small shops. Some streets around the corner there is Bleecker Street, which offers a lot of smaller shops that sell more individual stuff. A really lovely hood (I definitely know why “Carrie” chose to live there!)

X The Brooklyn Bridge Park

This place truly took my breath away and my heart. It´s just one of the most amazing places I have ever seen. Not just that you have the whole skyline of Manhattan in front of you, but also because you (or at least I did) feel alive. Yeah that sounds weird but I cannot really describe this place with words. You just have to experience it, standing directly at the shore of Hudson River and looking on the skyline. There will never be a place that´ll make you feel smaller than this spot, but it also makes you greatful to have the opportunity to stand there and experience such a wonder.

X Top of the Rock

Yeah I know that every travel guide would say the same, but I think in my case it is more the fact to experience New York from above. I think it doesn´t matter if you do Top of the Rock, One World or the Empire, but if you visit New York I would definitely recommend one of those viewing platforms. We chose top of the Rock, because it was right around the corner of our hotel, but also provided the view of the central park and the Empire State. Furthermore if you go on a cloudless day you can even spot the Statue of Liberty (which btw was the only time I saw it. We skipped it on this trip!) and also Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridge. Be aware that those viewing platforms are expensive (79 $ for two adults at Top of the Rock!) so I would make sure that you don´t have any rain up there. Additionally, I would buy the tickets beforehand, because we tried it without once and the waiting time would have been over two hours, so nope thank you. Afterwards it took us like ten minutes or so. Keep an eye on the busy times (definitely recommend being the one up there in the morning!)

X Madison Square Park 

I love love love this park so much!. Located directly next to the Flatiron Building and the surrounding offices it makes the perfect spot to watch the “NewYorkers”. We spent several hours there and all the time there was an street artist playing jazz music, which added even more flair. In Madison Square Park there is also the oldest location of Shake Shack (the burger everybody is talking about!), so it´s even better for enjoying sunny days. Just a little tip, if you take a taxi to the park, make sure you don´t say Madison Square Garden, since you end up at a big hall where sport and other events such as concerts take place. Just a little heads up since we made the mistake!